co-sleeping=dead babies

So I caught a story on 'Inside Edition' about a couple who had not one but 2 babies die of SIDS, probably due to co-sleeping. The parents woke up to a dead baby in their bed on 2 separate occasions. They were charged for child neglect after the second baby died. The interviewer was asking the parents why they chose to co-sleep with their second baby, knowing the risks and outcome of their first baby, and the mom just cried and couldn't answer the question. Did anyone else see this on tv? My question is, do you think the parents should be charged for child neglect or worse? What do you think of their decision to co-sleep with their second child? And how do you feel about co-sleeping in general? I'll post my opinion later....

So I caught a story on 'Inside Edition' about a couple who had not one but 2 babies die of SIDS, probably due to co-sleeping. The parents woke up to a dead baby in their bed on 2 separate occasions. They were charged for child neglect after the second baby died. The interviewer was asking the parents why they chose to co-sleep with their second baby, knowing the risks and outcome of their first baby, and the mom just cried and couldn't answer the question. Did anyone else see this on tv? My question is, do you think the parents should be charged for child neglect or worse? What do you think of their decision to co-sleep with their second child? And how do you feel about co-sleeping in general? I'll post my opinion later....

I believe that bedsharing can be done safely and there are many benefits. If a person has ANY risk factors (eg. obese, smoker, under influence of any drugs/alcohol, heavy sleeper, quilt user etc) I don't think they should co-sleep. I am surprised they would choose to co-sleep/bedshare after a loss like that as I believe it's likely they have at least one of the risk factors and are not safe bedsharers. I do not believe bedsharing=dead babies. Unsafe conditions create a higher risk of harm (just like toys, blankets, bumpers in cribs create an unsafe environment for babies). I think that they have paid the ultimate price and I don't know the circumstances well enough to know if they were grossly negligent and deserving of further punishment or if they made a terrible and irresponsible decision and paid dearly. Either way, it's tragic that two babies have lost their lives:-(

I believe that bedsharing can be done safely and there are many benefits. If a person has ANY risk factors (eg. obese, smoker, under influence of any drugs/alcohol, heavy sleeper, quilt user etc) I don't think they should co-sleep. I am surprised they would choose to co-sleep/bedshare after a loss like that as I believe it's likely they have at least one of the risk factors and are not safe bedsharers. I do not believe bedsharing=dead babies. Unsafe conditions create a higher risk of harm (just like toys, blankets, bumpers in cribs create an unsafe environment for babies). I think that they have paid the ultimate price and I don't know the circumstances well enough to know if they were grossly negligent and deserving of further punishment or if they made a terrible and irresponsible decision and paid dearly. Either way, it's tragic that two babies have lost their lives:-(

There was an article about this couple awhile back. The picture of the lady was really creepy looking. She was smiling, but it seemed like she was a real nutcase. My opinion about this situation is that the investigators believe that there was foul play involved, but that they don't have proof. I have co-slept with both of my boys. I believe that it's like so many choices in life. It can be dangerous if common sense isn't used, but perfectly safe if done correctly.

There was an article about this couple awhile back. The picture of the lady was really creepy looking. She was smiling, but it seemed like she was a real nutcase. My opinion about this situation is that the investigators believe that there was foul play involved, but that they don't have proof. I have co-slept with both of my boys. I believe that it's like so many choices in life. It can be dangerous if common sense isn't used, but perfectly safe if done correctly.

The medical examiner couldn't pinpoint the exact cause of death, but they said cardiac irregularity, asphyxiation, or mechanical compression could gave been possible causes (mechanical compression is when something is pushing down on the body). Apparently, the CPS worker who investigated tthe family he first time told them how bed sharing was dangerous and that it could have caused heir first child's death. The mom said she never knew, and would do things differently if she ever had another baby.

The medical examiner couldn't pinpoint the exact cause of death, but they said cardiac irregularity, asphyxiation, or mechanical compression could gave been possible causes (mechanical compression is when something is pushing down on the body). Apparently, the CPS worker who investigated tthe family he first time told them how bed sharing was dangerous and that it could have caused heir first child's death. The mom said she never knew, and would do things differently if she ever had another baby.

I am all for co sleeping, if you do it safely... I did with my first. I will not be doing it with this one as I found with my second that we slept better in our own beds. That story was very biased, I think the mom is very off, and I think the police suspect something wrong, but can't prove it.

I am all for co sleeping, if you do it safely... I did with my first. I will not be doing it with this one as I found with my second that we slept better in our own beds. That story was very biased, I think the mom is very off, and I think the police suspect something wrong, but can't prove it.

AOK is right. SIDS and suffocation are different things. It is possible the children died of SIDS in their parents' bed but more likely they suffocated. I am personally not a fan of bed-sharing; I prefer co-sleeping in the baby-in-its-own-bed-right-next-to-mum form; but each to their own. In this case I am surprised the parents chose to bed-share after having lost their first in that situation, but maybe they thought that it would be unlikely they would be unlucky (for want of a better word) twice.

AOK is right. SIDS and suffocation are different things. It is possible the children died of SIDS in their parents' bed but more likely they suffocated. I am personally not a fan of bed-sharing; I prefer co-sleeping in the baby-in-its-own-bed-right-next-to-mum form; but each to their own. In this case I am surprised the parents chose to bed-share after having lost their first in that situation, but maybe they thought that it would be unlikely they would be unlucky (for want of a better word) twice.

Ummm...does anyone else think this doesn't sound right? Is it possible that they killed their baby('s)? If you have been through such a terrible traumatic ordeal, surely any normal thinking person would never take the chance of it happening again? Especially if CPS has actually not only warned her of the dangers, but that she also agreed, and said that if she has another baby, then she would "do things differently".

Ummm...does anyone else think this doesn't sound right? Is it possible that they killed their baby('s)? If you have been through such a terrible traumatic ordeal, surely any normal thinking person would never take the chance of it happening again? Especially if CPS has actually not only warned her of the dangers, but that she also agreed, and said that if she has another baby, then she would "do things differently".

I'm not sure what the actual cause of death was for the children, from what I saw on the show they alluded to the idea it was caused by co-sleeping, but they also mentioned SIDS. Aok--I realize they are not the same, I was just stating the information presented in the interview.

I'm not sure what the actual cause of death was for the children, from what I saw on the show they alluded to the idea it was caused by co-sleeping, but they also mentioned SIDS. Aok--I realize they are not the same, I was just stating the information presented in the interview.

Hmm. That seems sketchy....I coslept with my son. It was something I had never planned to do, but he would not sleep any other way. This was on top of him being colicky. It scared the crap out of me. I hated it. I couldn't move, I had to go to bed when he was ready, lots of lost circulation, my husband was forced to sleep in another room, I was cold all the time because I was scared to use blankets. Then he decided he was done with cosleeping and by that time I had come to love it. So it made me a little sad to put him in his own crib, but it's what he wanted.

Yes, cosleeping can be dangerous if done improperly or by someone who is a heavy sleeper. But so can just sleeping in a crib. I have to wonder what caused her to make that choice again and how she coslept. Did she use blankets? Did her husband sleep in the bed with her? Were there gaps between the bed and the wall? Was she a heavy sleeper? Was she drinking? Was she on any prescription medication? Where were the pillows? Was she obese? Was she wearing loose clothing? Did they rule out suffocation?

Does anyone know, is suffocation in an infant a hard thing to pinpoint? Or what if it's just a matter of inhaling the same air full of carbon dioxide?

Hmm. That seems sketchy....I coslept with my son. It was something I had never planned to do, but he would not sleep any other way. This was on top of him being colicky. It scared the crap out of me. I hated it. I couldn't move, I had to go to bed when he was ready, lots of lost circulation, my husband was forced to sleep in another room, I was cold all the time because I was scared to use blankets. Then he decided he was done with cosleeping and by that time I had come to love it. So it made me a little sad to put him in his own crib, but it's what he wanted.

Yes, cosleeping can be dangerous if done improperly or by someone who is a heavy sleeper. But so can just sleeping in a crib. I have to wonder what caused her to make that choice again and how she coslept. Did she use blankets? Did her husband sleep in the bed with her? Were there gaps between the bed and the wall? Was she a heavy sleeper? Was she drinking? Was she on any prescription medication? Where were the pillows? Was she obese? Was she wearing loose clothing? Did they rule out suffocation?

Does anyone know, is suffocation in an infant a hard thing to pinpoint? Or what if it's just a matter of inhaling the same air full of carbon dioxide?

When I was BFing my children they would sometimes cosleep. If they fell asleep while feeding I wasn't about to wake them up. I actually felt like I slept lighter when they were in bed with me. Cosleeping can be done safely; most cases in which a child has died have involved drug use in my area. If their first child died due to cosleeping then I cannot imagine why they would choose to cosleep with their second child. I feel there's more to this story.

When I was BFing my children they would sometimes cosleep. If they fell asleep while feeding I wasn't about to wake them up. I actually felt like I slept lighter when they were in bed with me. Cosleeping can be done safely; most cases in which a child has died have involved drug use in my area. If their first child died due to cosleeping then I cannot imagine why they would choose to cosleep with their second child. I feel there's more to this story.

I would never co-sleep personally, I am a heavy sleeper & petrified I would roll over & suffocate or smash my baby. We sleep with DD next to our bed though, in a bassinet when she was a newborn, and now in her pack n play. She takes naps in her crib in her bedroom, but I like having her in our room at night. I think these parents were extremely stupid to risk sleeping with their baby, especially after the death of the first child. They should face criminal charges, worse than just neglect.

I would never co-sleep personally, I am a heavy sleeper & petrified I would roll over & suffocate or smash my baby. We sleep with DD next to our bed though, in a bassinet when she was a newborn, and now in her pack n play. She takes naps in her crib in her bedroom, but I like having her in our room at night. I think these parents were extremely stupid to risk sleeping with their baby, especially after the death of the first child. They should face criminal charges, worse than just neglect.

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